Family Mealtimes are a priceless treasure. We fortify ourselves as a family as we nourish our bodies and spirits. Each day a family is stronger, our communities and nation is stronger as well. Lets do what it takes to get it done.

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Monday, March 29, 2010

Day 62 Food and Politics

My "natural right to life" is defined as my right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some have wondered what political feelings in particular opinions on the health care legislation have to do with a "food" blog.

First, I have a natural right to life. Inherently that means I also have the natural right to death. The intervention of government in the life and death process has impeded my choice. Natural Consequences are the regulator of the choices I make. For a large portion of my childhood we had no insurance. It was unthought of to go to the doctor for colds, headaches, or other aches and pains. On the ranch we soon learned if we didn't like headaches, we had better sleep a solid eight hours (four of them before midnight). We learned to eat food that was nutritious and filling. No one was going to save us from bad choices. As it relates to food, I have learned to eat or be hungry, drink water or be dehydrated, limit sugar or have cavities and get a nasty shot from the dentist, etc... Consequences are not part of the choice. They are a result of our choice.

Liberty: I define this as the liberty to live my dreams. I can do anything, be anyone I am willing to work hard enough to become. I can do what is most fulfilling and rewarding to me.

Opportunities to build business and offer services free of social casting or educational barriers allow me to prosper. In my choice of foods, this means I can buy what I want. I can prepare what I want. Foods are not limited to a state controlled list. The free market allows me to go to the grocery store in Omaha, in the Central US and pull fruits from New Zealand, Mexico and Europe. I have a great choice.

Pursuit of happiness: My greatest joy comes from giving. I love empowering my children and those around me to be more self reliant, more independent, more giving themselves.

Now, how does the Healthcare legislation impede my natural right to life? Government interference in the last century has diminished our to freedom to live and die with dignity. One specific example is a death of an elderly man that occured after weeks of pain, intubation with a respirator, with kidney failure and the inability to eat. In the interim, life was sustained because Medicare paid. Government hand outs have removed the "natural consequence." Government entilements jeopardize choice and impede our decisions to acknowledge reality.

In applying the lack of real consequences to food choices, the government has mandated insurance coverage. This means that we pay for services to treat conditions caused by poorly eating among others. Natural consequences are suspended. We end up paying for health care for people like the gal in New Jersey who is has a fanasty of being the heaviest woman alive and eats $750 of food a week because she likes it, the legislation includes requiring restaurants to post the calories each of their dishes. The government involvement continues to encroach on our lives.

The health care legislation jeapordizes my liberties by limiting my choices. As I was writing this (at 5:30 am), the "Milk 2 You" truck is delivering fresh milk to my neighbors. The free market allowed someone to come up with a plan to offer regular delivery of parishable products on a weekly basis. Private business increases my choices of foods to buy. The insurance premiums businesses are required to pay as a result of this legislation will push many out of business. In the early 1970 my mother had a small business manufacturing wedding accessories. She bought a commercial gathering machine and in our "game room" on a ranch in Wyoming she created beautiful muffs and parisoles that she sold to shops in Chicago, Georgia, Canada, and California. She employed two or three women who had no children at home. She paid them a modest sum for which they were happy to come to our home and work. When the minimum wage became mandatory, Mom closed shop.

On another front as our government embraces communist ideology, the foods I can choose from will be limited. In a communist country, I doubt that I could have purchased 120 pounds of potatoes, 150 pounds of oranges and grapefruit that I brought home in preparation for this 90 day challenge. I reguard the Health Care legislation as Communist legislation. Listening to anyone describe markets in Russian or Estonia before the fall of Communism makes me shudder. There is one kind of state controlled bread, one kind of butter, one brand of toilet paper, no ethnic foods, no regional produce. The health care legislation affects my food purchases.

Finally my right to happiness is impared. Arthur C. Brooks author of "Who Really Cares" is a nationally recognized economist who has documented the direct correlation between happiness and giving. The generosity of American citizens gives us as a people great feelings of contentment and satisfaction. As the government taxes us, the amount of disposable income that I can give to the poor is decreased. My happiness is simultaneously diminished.

On every front the health care bill effects my "natural rights to life" and directly impacts the foods I purchase.

Dinner: Pot Luck Party for 30 to honor friends that are in town for a couple of days. I tried to serve the vegetable soup topped with cornmeal like the tamale pie. The corn meal did not cook on top of the boiling vegetables. It turned into a gooy dough. I scooped off what I could and stirred the rest into the soup. It thickened the broth and tasted good. Wouldn't you know when guests arrive something doesn't work. Thank goodness they provided broccoli pasta salad, broccoli green salad, 2 jello fruit salads, (My children were delighted.) brownies, cookies, the paper plates and bowls and cake. (My disposable ware could be restocked.) The evening was enjoyable and refreshing. I am glad I don't have to serve vegetable soup four more times.

About Me

Family Relationships benefited most of all when we completed a 90 day challenge to stay out of grocery stores in February, March, and April 2010. The subsequent challenge to build our food stores while on a limited budget May, June and July 2010 also reinforced the reasons why we cook and feed our families. The purpose of continuing this blog is to strengthen the desire to build strong families by centering our attention on the skills required to cook from scratch as we nourish our families physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally.